Maureen, you befuddle often. Here you sound slightly compromised as clearly as when W was President. Barbara Bush deserves kindness this day after her perfect funeral which was light, easy on the eyes and ears, and filled to the brim with followers of the family and thank God absent DJT who surely had to be told "you cannot go". Her minister was perfect choice for the homily, so well spoken. Kitty Kelly brought controversy to BB; her hold on the family and the feel of Kelly's criticisms seem to lurk in your column? As if you need to remind us such words and recollections exist. We know, we knew, and yesterday many wore pearls anyway. Wondering if you attended the service. As I began, feeling a bit befuddled. RIP BB regardless.
9
"Barbara Bush was an expert at throwing shade, even before the term existed." Ummmmmmm, Maureen Dowd knows nothing about the culture from which the term, "throwing shade," originates and clearly has no sense of the term's history or when it originated. How ironic that Lady Dowd should begin her encomium with a term lifted from gay/trans/African American culture. Barbara Bush, who famously revealed her casual racism when discussing Hurricane Katrina and who famously chose not to believe Anita Hill. And enough with all of the praise for Barbara's so-called bravery, "to go hug babies with AIDS." To hug a child, especially a child born with HIV is a privilege. A child is sacred--not a prop. Living in Houston, I know a number of unsavory stories about the former First Lady--stories I imagine will never be more than whispered. Barbara Bush lived a life of privilege. She did enough good to burnish her image but not enough to make a lasting difference.
32
Mrs. Bush was lovely to you, I wonder why. Maybe because you're another rich person who has plenty in common with her. Maybe because you have an outlet at the newspaper. The Bush's destroyed millions of families and set the planet on fire. They did damage to my family's prospects for survival, freedom, and quality of life that will never be recovered. Where is a newspaper column from someone that the "nice" rich people didn't view as peers? Where is a newspaper column from someone that the "nice" rich people didn't view as fully human?
26
Lovely!!!
I must confess that my reaction to this column was to think about it’s author (based on her past columns)that she knows 100 ways to throw shade and 10 ways to cast light.
14
A very nice column. But I do wish Maureen had not elected to describe Mrs. Bush as "ungainly." Just not nice, really. And not necessary.
5
Nice woman with lousy relatives. Thanks Ms Dowd
3
Nice. Just nice, Maureen. :-)
3
Maureen, thanks for the beautiful eulogy to Barbara Bush. Except for the fake pearls, she was, who she was - always the real Barbara, a strong woman who spoke her mind, right or wrong. There is the "We've had enough Bushes " and after Hurricane Katrina people taking shelter at the astrodome," that's better than what they are used to ". It was brushed off as an infraction and an apology was extended. It is easy to say sorry but more difficult to assuage the people insulted. And this was one of a many. I agree with Prof. Jarrar. What is a mere, careless infraction for the privileged, can be a serious festering wound for the insulted, under privileged. But I do think Prof. Jarrar was wrong too. She could have waited and responsibly used her first amendment right. There was no reason to denounce a person so soon after her death. After all, Barbara Bush was a strong lady, a human being. And there is no human being who is flawless.
6
Classic Maureen Dowd -- sharing the small, telling details we'd otherwise never know, and doing it with such a deft, delicate touch. As for today's subject, I know so much more about "Bar." Obviously, a fierce, elegant woman.
6
Thanks for your lovely piece about Barbara Bush. I'm used to your acidic pen, so this was a pleasant change. You are right that she was always real and always supported her family. I'm not a Republican, but I always liked Barbara and always thought that H.W. was very lucky to have found such a wife. She transcended politics.
7
Some of the angry comments here surprise me. Barbara Bush was a caring, funny and inclusive woman. One person said she didn't hug one adult gay man with AIDs. What does it matter? After eight years of disgraceful silence from the Reagans, it was really important for the First Lady to raise the issue at all, even it it started with babies. Ronald and Nancy Reagan's deaths were full of mourning and kind words. Mrs. Bush deserves our respect and sadness that she's gone, if only for her untiring devotion to literacy. Fortuneatly she has a full life of accomplishment for us to miss. Ms. Dowd often makes my teeth rattle, but she's spot on here.
9
It makes me really uneasy to read of a jounalist’s close relationship with a source, any source.
15
What a woman! She carved her own way, listened to her conscience, and spoke out when others would not. The world is a wiser place for her presence, and her absence will be felt.
1
I was no great fan of Mrs. Bush, perhaps because of a friend who thought her perfect.
I've been thinking of Lynn Samuels, a radio personality of the 80s who opined in her nasally, gravelly voice: "I like her -- she's fat and wrinkled like me. And she's going to teach Dan Quayle to read."
13
Lovely piece today, Maureen. I must admit it took me a while to warm up to Barbara Bush but once I did I saw her as most others did. I liked her spirit and her outspokenness and her ability to say what needed to be said whenever and wherever.
Authenticity is mostly absent in politics but she was a 'great broad' and I mean no disrespect. She cared about people and it showed.
Her enduring legacy will be her loving family, loyal and true, and the space she leaves behind. She was Maine and she was Texas, natural and grand.
7
Sadly, there were lots of gaffs in Barbara Bush's life. Maybe she tried to hide them or joke about them or just live with them. The truth is that Barbara and her Family did a lot to almost help destroy America. I will not list them, they are well known. She said to her family that upon her death that "she was going to a
beautiful place." I hope that is true for her sake. We all make mistakes and want to be forgiven but when those mistakes encompass the lives of millions of people it might just be a little more than anyone can forgive.
10
I'm particularly fond of the duplicity of the Bush family. It has no equal, because, as the defanged-for-Bush Dowd becomes a hagiographer in this essay, the Bushes publicize themselves singularly as civil in politics, vanguards of the truth, & prudent financially.
They gave us one of the most intensely racist ads with their Willy Horton commercial for 41's election: focusing on the danger that white women have to fear from paroled black men.
Also, they lied to us about the WMD in Iraq to cover for 43's simple vengeance on behalf of 41, and drove the US economy into the greatest recession since the great depression.
We should be happiest when we have no more Bushes to bury.
31
Barbara Bush was a mixture of things, like all of us. All the anecdotes about her, if you take away the fact that she was the wife of a Bush, do not sound any different than any everyday person. The naked truth is, except for rare individuals, people that end up in high positions are just people, with all the foibles humanity entails. Writers, great artists, sculptors, genius scientists, a Gandhi or MLK, even people who accomplish things that most of us do not, if you knew them, are still just folks, and we know there are flaws even in great achievers. Politicians, for the most part, are not special people. They have big egos and opine on matters understood much more by scholars and scientists and experts. A spouse of a politician, the average one, not Hilary Clinton or Michelle Obama, lawyers, careers, and achievements independent of their partners, is famous only because he or she married a politician.
No objection to honoring someone in death. But celebrity obsession makes media overdo such events.
As to AIDS, Barbara Bush did not hug male gays with AIDS. Babies are easy.
7
Some of these comments about Barbara Bush are snarky and mean spirited. Mrs. Bush has not even been deceased for one week and people are criticizing her unnecessarily. We should respect the dead as they cannot defend themselves. It appeared she did more than wear beautiful clothes and spend lots of money on herself unlike some other First Ladies who looked down upon others. She promoted the importance of literacy and took up this cause with a passion. Many are reading today and have a love of books due to her efforts. No small feat.
It is very easy to criticize but what have each of us done to elevate suffering and pain? We must each look into our own lives before condemning Mrs. Bush. Many of us think she was a great lady and American. She will go down in history as one of our better First Ladies.
8
Unfortunately, one comment Barbara made to W is not included in this Opinion Piece. Barbara made the famous observation to W that God wanted him to become president. Eight years later the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and mostly the U.S. would say probably not.
17
A beautiful column that speaks to a self-aware and smart woman. How subtly she influenced the powerful scions around her, and how lucky we are for her decency.
3
Thank you for the beautiful column about a beautiful lady. Rest in peace, Mrs. Bush.
2
Being clever in ways to snipe back at people who have wronged one does not exonerate the sniping. Truly great people, ones who are deserving of admiration, find ways to remain above the fray and let their tormentors flay themselves. Barbara Bush was not one of those individuals. She was a master at the clever punch. Her Katrina remarks are quite telling and despite any followup apology are indicative of a person who thinks of herself a bit above the others. Her's were not the words of a young woman still finding herself and thus subject to easy forgiving.
19
very nice! it was easy to dislike her especially after we had a good dose of W...... but we humans are a complicated bunch. peace to barbara.
4
Maureen, it’s always interesting to learn so much about you when you write columns about other people.
5
wasn't Dame Barbara Bush who referred to Geraldine Ferraro saying something like "rhymes with witch"? What a "Classy Lady"... No doubt that Ms. Bush (or "Mrs. Bush" as she would prefer) couldn't actually know the word which the NY Times now publishes because she was Too Classy to be in a room where that room might be used.
8
Maureen - that is a lovely tribute.
1
The most telling detail is that on the one hand she should say, “There are other people out there that are very qualified,” she said, “and we’ve had enough Bushes.” But then she jumps in to help the hopeless and hapless low-energy Jeb. Such integrity.
The second most telling detail is that when she receives a gift of shampoo, she uses her pet dog as a guinea pig.
Fake pearls, fake heart.
7
"She told reporters at Kennebunkport once when I was there...."
"Once at Kennebunkport...I could see her wince."
"Once when we were at Kennebunkport..."
Ms Dowd: Ever gonna come to the conclusion that you just ain't the story? Huh?
14
She was a success as a wife and a failure as a mother.
4
Not a fan of Republicans in general but Mrs. Bush was certainly a huge cut above the majority of them. She made a few unfortunate, ill-considered remarks particularly at the time of Katrina -- but overall she lead a decent life and did the right thing such as holding AIDS babies and admitting she was pro-choice for women at a time when her husband and the GOP was trying to kill it. I admired her willingness to say what a lot of people felt when she said that "there have been enough Bushes" before Jeb decided to run. She had dignity and class and she loathed a disgusting being like Trump and his ilk and she wasn't afraid to say it publicly. The US unfortunately never elected the best member of the Bush clan -- Barbara Bush.
5
Maureen, didn't Mrs. Bush want to know why you were you were so mean to her family?
1
Trump is very lucky that Bar didn't take part of her golden years to put him in his place. If that's possible at all. Wonderful article, Maureen.
2
Another example of sexism to blame Barbara Bush for every bad thing the men in her life did.
6
Barbara Bush was a good, wonderful, person indeed - however she went a long way to enable the “Bush” political/economic dynasty which was NOT good for America, it’s people or the world.
1
"Mrs. Bush had a bourbon just before she died. So did my mom, with a morphine chaser." And so too did my own mom, who was no fan of Bush the father or son, but loved their Queen!
3
And here you have it -- the quintessential Maureen Down column. Fluff, gossip and oh so many bon mots, but no substance whatsoever.
I really do feel it is unseemly to speak ill of the dead, and there was much to admire about Barbara Bush. But if I hear the story about her hugging a baby with AIDS during the first Bush administration, I think I'm going to throw up. I have worked in the AIDS field for more than 30 years -- first as an activist, and now as a professional -- and I was on the scene regularly advocating for sound HIV policies in Washington during the Bush I years. The Bush I administration's approach to HIV, while marginally superior to the utter silence of the Reagan administration, was appalling -- grudging acknowledgement of the problem, little funding, complete abdication of leadership to Congress, and a sense captured best by a comment made by senior Bush administration official, that we should just "let the center burn" (i.e., just let everybody infected with HIV die out so the problem would go away).
I'm delighted this anecdote about the baby-hugging warms Ms. Dowd's heart. But it's this elevation of sentiment and PR over substance that so epitomizes Ms Dowd's work at this late stage of her career.
On reflection, though, I must admit this may not have been the "quintessential" Dowd column. It didn't, after all, include a gratuitous dig at Hillary Clinton or "Barry" Obama.
23
Funny as usual, while telling things as they are; I guess compunction is not your strength. Barbara had, indeed, a sharp tongue and a whisk of discriminatory fervor, perhaps part of her upbringing in this discriminatory society of ours, where the color of our skin still reminds us that stupidity is in ample supply. Bar reminds us that the shedding our sense of 'entitlement' is grossly exaggerated. And further, our subconscious biases are entrenched in ignorance; too bad that in these Trumpian times, that ignorance is willful.
4
It’s unfortunate that we’ve achieved the kind of celebratory cynicism traditionally reserved for countries like Italy or France and currently all the rage in countries like Russia and Hungary.
Jeb Bush was reviled and laughed at for his “low energy”(I call it civility). Obama for his “elitism” (never before did a law degree from Harvard become such a burden).
We are now to be congratulated and complimented for lying if it succeeds. Bullying and torture are great, because it means you’re “tough”.
Barbara Bush always tried (and many times, like all of us failed) to do the right thing. Now you are considered a fool to think of even trying.
6
It'd be so interesting to see how you would write this same article about Hillary Clinton.
Hillary is exactly Babs ... with a job and, you know, actual accomplishments of, like, her own.
And, the wrong people constantly harping on her, continuously tearing her down, and generally acting disgracefully because of it.
Sound familiar?
18
A very touching and sincere eulogy.
But I have to wonder if you ever sent any books to Hillary or Michelle?
And what the titles are?
1
Great article, but for one item. So many were impressed by Bar's gesture of kissing babies "with AIDS" (whatever happened to the distinction between HIV positive and AIDS?). I too was impressed, until I thought, well, where were the pictures of her kissing gay men who were HIV positive or suffering from AIDS? I remember Princess Diana bravely doing just that in the very early days of the crisis, when the hysteria was full blown. And the concern wasn't just about infection, it was about endorsing a so-called "lifestyle". There was a double standard; someone like Bar could come off looking like a saint by showing comfort to babies (it wasn't their fault they were infected) but stay clear of the gay men who were allegedly culpable for their plight.
4
Gee Maureen, I heard a lot of people who knew her say B. Bush was a tough as nails and hard as rock. I guess you know better.
7
Beautiful tributes.
Peggy Dowd and Barbara Bush.
Two remarkable women connected by a third: Abigail Adams.
2
This was a lovely, touching column. Thank you.
Barbara "Grandma" Bush came to Senegal when I was there serving in the Peace Corps in the early 80's. I remember initially shrugging her visit off as mere politics as did some other volunteers, not happy with Reagan's choice for PC director nor the rumors that he was going to bring us all home because the program was wasteful. So I remember deciding to make a small protest and skip her visit to meet with some of us and tour a Senegalese farming community where villagers (mostly women) along with one of our colleagues had established a large community garden. This required a long six hour drive to the far eastern region of Senegal near the Mali and Guinea Bissau border. (A trip that could take all day if the roads were bad.) Afterward, I remember realizing I'd made a mistake. Not because Mrs. Bush had brought some goodies for us nor the speech she made, but because she'd made the effort and she'd honored the Senegalese by making the visit. After that, I asked my parents to come and visit me and the people who cared for me in the community where I worked. Mrs. Bush indeed knew and understood that in her role as a representative of the US and as a powerful woman, she could "shine light" on the activities and efforts in those corners of the world that are often dimmed and ignored.
8
Good manners used to be considered essential for every child - male and female. The lack of the ability to say please and thank you (the basis for all good manners) makes for rude, crude, and even violent behavior. Barbara Bush had good manners which will carry one through every situation. I wonder how much race relations could be improved just by teaching folks on each side how to interact with good manners with people with whom they normally do not meet. Good manners is not icing on the cake - it is the lubricant which soothes political and social interactions. Good manners teach children to think of how the other person feels - the basis of all inter-relationships from the personal to the international. Barbara Bush had good manners. Nancy Reagan was often tone deaf to anyone except Ronnie. Barbara also had a good sense of humor and was free of the over concern for her personal appearance that plagues/limits most women in public life.
7
She sounds so witty, until you consider that the people she was talking about were the ones in the arena while she was speaking from an entirely different position. Barbara was always going to end up well. She came from money, and married into money and power. But when one looks more closely at how she did at the things she was directly responsible for, raising George W. for example, results were actually quite subpar. And behind it there were always those blue blood sentiments about how her beautiful mind couldn't be troubled by the little people going to her son's wars, and those displaced within America by other disasters.
I've seen several comments in the NY Times in the wake of her death moderated out for pointing to some of these less flattering, but real, points of her character. And too often there's that sentiment that now is not the time, she's dying, or what have you. Or those reminiscences that these awful things can be easily brushed over by her wearing pearls and looking like our grandmother.
I, for one, don't particularly care. The sliver of one's life in the difficult process of dying doesn't exempt anyone from taking an extremely scrutinizing look at the product of someone's life. This is particularly true of the Bushes, who have shown little capacity to apply that scrutiny to themselves.
12
A wonderful woman and good role model for all of us. Her devotion to decency and honesty is needed these days.
Thanks, Mrs. Bush, for being a shining light.
3
Sigh. What does it say about our current political climate that this lifelong progressive voter misses the likes of George and Barbara Bush in public service? I may not have agreed with them politically, but I certainly respected their commitment and their patriotism. I never doubted for one minute that the Bushes were capable leaders who put country before party and who believed in governance, not partisanship. Barbara Bush was smart and compassionate. An all too rare combination of traits in today's Washington D.C.
8
I suspect that Barbara and George Bush would not match my wife and me politically. But I have no doubt that they would be engaging and brilliant in conversation, decent and respectful in debate, and delightful and human as a couple. I wish we could have met them.
Thank you, Ms. Dowd, for such a loving portrait of a lovely First Lady.
10
Truly a well composed tribute. Thank you for the quality.
6
Nice piece. I was never a Bush fan (either) but Bar was a class act until the end. I love the bourbon touch at the end.
11
It's been interesting reading all the different perspective pieces being written currently about Barbara Bush. I didn't pay too much attention to her husband's administration -- too young and un-engaged I guess.
But her son's -- Dubya's -- I was deeply aware of.
And I didn't take kindly to her defense of said son, when during the Iraq war years, she babbled something to the effect of 'why should he read the newspapers and see all the depressing headlines?" ...
Gee, let's see: the guy missed/ignored the lead-up to 9/11, then started bogus war. I thought he needed to be reading a LOT, actually.
So I have mixed feelings about this woman.
I guess a mother's protective instinct never ebbs. Or something like that.
Life, love, decisions, consequences ... it's complicated.
~ 9/11 family member
11
An obituary should be a tribute. Once and done. The endless fawning over Barbara Bush is getting really old.
She was an elitist, who played at being common while ensconced in her many luxurious homes. She raised several children who did more harm than good in their elected positions. W, for the prime example, cowboyed his way into Iraq, leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths and ongoing instability.
George H.W. (Poppy) loved, in his charming way, to sexually touch young women. My good friend was his classmate in college and reflected that he was not so bright and all "hail fellow well met" with little substance.
Enough already.
23
Amen!
6
Hmm. George H "not bright"? Phi Beta Kappa, Yale, and not bright?
3
Yup, and she publicly whined that people were saying mean things about her son as President...conveniently overlooking the reason was the illegal war and mass murder and all. Fidelity to family is fine, but when your son is Charlie Manson times 100,000, well, it showed clearly what the little people were to her.
15
Perhaps the presidential wife we have known for decades as the Bride of Satan, since her husband unilaterally declared war on Iraq, will see that a deed or two may redeem her well-grilled soul...but this sickening hagiography for a woman who said the unforgettable "They never had it so good!" when my own Federal agency distributed clothing and accessories from our seized property warehouses to the Katrina victims. Sorry, I won't let that go. She was a member of what the early Soviets called "the former classes" since they had largely destroyed wealthy parasites by the 1920s.
11
You show your own roots here with a salute to a palpable figure from the conservative side you admire so greatly. Pity that in all your ranting about Mrs.Clinton you could not find anything nice to say over all these years. A bit disproportionate I would say.
34
Barbara Bush was a truth-telling, classy lady. None of those things can be said about Hillary Clinton.
2
If Mrs. Bush could comment on "Fake Pearls, Real Heart", I'm sure she would say, "Lovely, Maureen"!
2
Her "heart" showed when she made her comments about people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. I'm surprised Dowd didn't mention that, I guess it didn't fit the narrative she wanted to sell. Shame she couldn't have been so "balanced" when she wrote about Hillary
22
I so agree. Anyone who says of the victims of Katrina, ""Almost everyone I've talked to says: 'We're going to move to Houston,' " Mrs Bush said late on Monday after visiting evacuees at the Astrodome with her husband, former president George Bush.
"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said.
"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this - this is working very well for them," shows little evidence of a "heart".
11
This glowing tribute by the same author who wrote "The Clinton Contamination" in 2016?
14
“Fake pearls, real heart.” Conscience, morality, and good taste dictate that we not speak ill of the dead. Mrs. Bush is a worthy exception to the rule. I don’t know about the pearls but she had a real heart and it was made of ice cold steel. Many of us won’t forget her callousness in the face of Katrina or the war in Iraq. We won’t forget Republicans holding themselves out as defenders of “family values“ and “morality,“ when we knew she flouted both. And many of us will remember that when she finally deigned to acknowledge that AIDS had a human face, she did so with a baby, not gay men — with the obvious, indeed inescapable, implications.
How much more hagiography, all of it written as breathlessly as if she were a tinpot dictator, does the Times have to publish? “Why should I waste my beautiful mind with something like this?
21
Sweet, Maureen.
1
Did anyone else notice something a bit awkward in the photo?
1
Yes. Mrs. Bush is sitting as far away as possible. Ms. Dowd is hovering.
2
MoDo, Thank you for your unsentimental writing. You usually keep it real, and I appreciate the lack of hagiography that I've seen in recent days with Mrs. Bush.
2
I shed a tear when I saw President Obama at Mrs. Bush's funeral. I suppose it was for both of them.
7
This is precisely the problem with Maureen Dowd. She loves anyone or anything that she thinks loves her, and that seems to cause her some amnesia. Has Dowd forgotten that while Barb was being so "lovely," her husband was cutting social services, in favor of "a thousand points of light." Noblesse oblige may be amusing to cover on the reporter's trail, but it doesn't pay the bills for the middle class and the poor. That's the problem with country club Republicans. So I'm sorry if I can't reminisce with Dowd. While Barb was being sweet, thousands, without light, were doing without.
32
" the aftereffects of all the MEN in your family ". I'm glad that YOU said it.
2
Sorry. Fake pearls, no heart.
13
A modest amount of intimate detail pretty much void of intimate feelings. Feelings are at the heart of any eulogy. D-.
I am always happy when I'm reminded that George H. and Barbara Bush were displeased with their son allowing Cheney and Rumsfeld to steal the presidency--two reptiles of the highest order. Barbara Bush was a grand lady.
7
No fake news here.
I imagine her wit would make Trump speechless.
1
It would go over his head. He would be happy that she was talking about him.
Nice piece.
This was kind, as was perfectly appropriate. Nice to know that you can do that, Ms. Dowd.
Lovely tribute Mo' - and the Bushes seem to have been genuinely fond of you.
The article also provides a clue about your inability to say anything positive about the Clintons. I suspect you never forgave them for beating the Bushes.
8
“The senior Bushes were privately distraught that W. let Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and the neocons hijack his presidency.”
Oh! Well, that’s different then... W is blameless.
12
This was nice, however I must say I am shocked to hear Maureen Dowd say something nice about anyone in public life.
1
Then you weren't paying attention when she courted and truckled to Donald J. Trump early in his candidacy.
5
Laura Bush's words for Barbara were what I think anyone would want to be remembered as - "Funny & Fierce".
1
Referring to Hurricane Katrina survivors: “So many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, ...so this is working very well for them.”
Bush wrote in her 1994 memoir that Clarence Thomas was “a good man” who had been “smeared” by reports that he sexually harassed Anita Hill. “Is this woman telling the truth?” Bush wrote. “I do not mean to sit in judgment, but I will never believe that she, a Yale Law School graduate, a woman of the 80s, would put up with harassment for one moment, much less follow the harasser from job to job, call him when she came back to town and later invite him to speak to her students at Oral Roberts University.”
15
Don’t you mean “Real Pearls, Fake Heart”?
“Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? It’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”
As hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians died in Iraq, Mrs. Bush told us exactly the type of person she was.
19
So, the one point Ms. Dowd or another who is/was closer to Ms. Bush could answer, perhaps? Why no comments from the Bush tribe about women nn there sufferings that is rightfully so concerning to others. I may be wrong about this, I read not everything, but have any of her grandaughters, Laura, Dubbya, a peep or less? Why? Maybe because Hillary does not much either? Let alone Bill... A word? "Skeletons", perhaps? I don't know, speculating, not judging...
1
I've been a fan of yours for years, Ms. Dowd, but I never realized that you are, in fact, prickly on the outside, but pure mush on the inside. Thank you so much for sharing your touching memories of the inimitable Barbara Bush.
I'm sure she was a lovely person, if you were in the circles where you might encounter her. But given the violence and criminality wrought by her family, Ms. Dowd, silence would have been more tasteful.
7
What’s with the fake pearls bit? Do we know that for a fact? Maybe it was a signature gesture, like the price tags on Minnie Pearl’s hats? I don’t know, but for sure the Bushes were rich enough to afford real pearls, no problem. Since the “fake” thing isn’t explained in this piece, it makes me wonder if the author is throwing a little shade of her own. P.S. I’m not a fan of B.B. after her comments about Geraldine Ferrero and displaced people post-Katrina; I’m just sensitive to hints of journalistic snark.
3
Oh please. Kind words about a woman who was the wife and mother of two men responsible for the deaths and injuries and torture of hundreds of thousands of completely innocent human beings.
8
If only she hadn’t actively campaigned for the despicable Jesse Helms and chose to embrace only the so-called “innocent victims” of AIDS.
12
I've been looking forward to Maureen's column on Barbara Bush, and She did not disappoint.
1
Better than I recall - but how I'd like to recall some things, these days...
And - like - wow!!!
Dowd: 100 - Pinstripes: 0...
2
Wonderful.
Thanks for such a non-snarky piece Maureen. Can't help but wonder where we might be today if we'd had Mrs Bush as a President instead of her son. So sorry that glass ceiling didn't break in her lifetime but I try to remain hopeful it will happen in mine.
Maureen, you nailed it....thanks
I am sincerely sorry for the family's loss. I hope the lady will rest in peace.
But Barbara Bush was a mean drunk and an insensitive "lady" of privilege.
The nation is not diminished by her passing...though the family certainly has been. RIP, Barbara...the rest of us will carry on to manage the mayhem foisted upon us by your offspring.
7
Thx Maureen. Bar's good sense is needed now.
1
Frankly, these accolades about an imperfect, but admittedly likable woman, are getting monotonous. A question that bugs me is could such a beloved mother and father raise two such incompetent sons?
14
You'd never guess what these people, with their inherited wealth and their enormous country houses and their wars of choice fought by other people have done to the nation.
And look to the pundits, also rich, heedless and comfortable, to slaver....
13
I am genuinely puzzled at the gushing praise of Barbara Bush. I remember when she was regarded as arrogant, abrasive and tone deaf.
I can't help but think that the revisionist love for her is solely due to her family's disparagement of Trump.
20
Enough articles on B.B., let her Rest In Peace.....
2
And I hope the current First Lady paid close attention to the speeches at Barbara Bush's funeral and appreciated the classiness so missing in her husband and his entourage.
3
Mrs.Bush was not only authentic and generous she was a public relations genius.Probably most people did not notice this.When she and the President arrived by helicopter at the White House after a weekend at Camp David she always had an armful of books.It reinforced her push for literacy.In addition she would carry a book so that the title and author were part of the picture.In this way she gave a boost to new authors.I clearly noticed this one time because I knew the young author of the book she was carrying so conspicuously.She not only promoted literacy but supported authors .
2
I remember "the handlers" trying to hide Barbara Bush during HW's primary...presumably because she wasn't the glam wife they thought would sell him. Remember: these are the same folks that gave us Dan Quayle because they thought woman voters would think he was cute. By remaining herself throughout, she had the final word and the last laugh.
7
Spent an hour with Mrs. Bush on a TV crew. It was a very trying shoot, but through it all Mrs. Bush stayed upbeat, patient, and unfailingly courteous, especially to the unknown, unsung crew. From that day forward, never throw shade on that lady in my presence. True royalty.
5
Barbara Bush's virtues were the norm for the old WASPs, the group of rich, well-educated, confident, comparatively decent, honest, and polite people who used to run America during its glory years from the end of WWII to 1970, when its rivals were defeated or bankrupt, and for one brief shining moment, it really was great until, admittedly, the best and the brightest of these same WASPs started destroying it in Vietnam. Nonetheless, when you compare the values of those old WASPs with the boomer crowd of narcissists epitomized by Trump, which has made almost every institution they've touched (except some tech firms they created) much worse on their watch in the past 25 years, the descent from glory to pathetic "it's all about ME" farce is quite striking. Compare Barbara Bush with Ivanka Trump, formed by narcissist boomers parents, to see what I mean.
9
Sadly, Bush thought the marooned plebeians in the Superdome of 2005, had it better while in the dome than back at their homes. Real heart?
Some self-awareness by Mo would help the situation. Could be Mo has a gilt-edged blind spot.
6
Maybe. But one of her sons is a torturer, and another an election wrecker. But we shouldn't blame the parents. Necessarily. Excuse me, but I meet women every day that I have many more reasons to admire. They are less noticeable because they neither married nor mothered bad presidents and governors. Not genuflecting.
10
Barbara Bush was a great human being---and everyone in the world of 1984 knows that.
We should just vaporize the word "fact"--I hardly remember its meaning.
And isn't Trump a really really great President?
1
Barbara Bush gave her husband and sons the emotional strength to commit the crimes of the "Bush Crime Family" and the humility to never let themselves be perceived as the perpetrators of those crimes.
12
Two First Ladies in back-to-back presidencies were born in Flushing, NY
I was born in Flushing as well, but never made it to the White House, even as a tourist. Nancy Reagan was raised on Roosevelt Avenue and 149th Place for a while. The house is still there. This was reported by Kitty Kelly in a bio years and years ago. Nancy wasn't even born a Nancy. She changed her first name.
And somewhere I heard Barbara Bush was born in Flushing. How is this possible? Well, the obit said she was born in a Salvation Army Hospital because her mom's gynecologist volunteered there for a month at a time. Rye New York to Flushing is quite a change of scenery, especially in 1925.
If I've got it right, that hospital would have become known to me as Booth Memorial Hospital, now New York-Presbyterian, on Main Street.
Imagine that.
5
What lovely words to eulogize a character from our lives, whether we knew her personally or not. We did know her--in ways that only prominent figures are "known." She so represents the humanity of us all. I remember her remark to an interviewer who mentioned the difficulty of finding "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq to justify our proposed war. She smugly sniffed, "There's a lot of sand there." I chuckled at this but mostly because of her style: imperious, haughty, disdainful of naysayers. I always liked her after that. And I hated that war with a passion.
Thank God for the characters we have endured, hated and loved. I will miss that crusty old Republican dame.
The next-to-last sentence is the most powerful and illuminating of the entire column. It moved me.
Because I do honestly believe that the ability to read and write is the most important skill anyone can learn, I hold Barbara Bush in the highest esteem because of her advocacy in adult literacy.
By her efforts she changed lives and by doing so, changed their world.
2
A very lovely tribute to an American original...thanks Maureen! You captured her warmth. her humanity and her individuality beautifully.
Thank you Maureen for more enlightenment about a wonderful First Lady. She was born to the manor but through her good works became a person who was relatable to all Americans.
She was down to earth, devoid of pretense, sincerely committed to causes and had a strong inner core and big heart. She had style, her own style, that reflected her self confidence. She spoke her truth and had a wonderful wit.
Not only will she be missed by her husband and family, she will be missed by those of us who remember her as a woman who defined feminism in her own way and was a worthy role model for many women.
3
Wonderful column, Ms. Dowd. Pearls and shoes are on the outside....the real heart is on the inside, where it matters. Folks, there's advice worth following at the bottom of the column today: "Bar knew 10 ways to throw shade, but she knew 100 ways to shine light." We need a lot more light-shiners out there. Thanks for spreading Bar's good word, Mo! More light is sorely needed.
6
Thank you. This essay brings tears to my eyes. I thought I had read all; that I appreciated this life; i read this after my husband said "look at this"; it's a marvel.
Thanks for the lovely memorial to Barbara Bush. She was one of those women who got more beautiful as she aged. She saw a lot and suffered a terrible tragedy. A long and interesting life, seemingly steeped in family love.
1
Unlike her husband, one didn't have to read Barbara Bush's lips to understand what she was saying. Unlike her son, George, one didn't have to pause to reconstruct her sentences in order to pry their intended meaning from mangled syntax. Unlike Jeb, she never paid a price for "Bush fatigue."
In an era when political correctness rules the day, and "do as I say, not as I do" politicians hypocritically pander to right-wing moralists, Barbara Bush was genuine, funny, honest and refreshing. If she said something, it was because she meant it. Her utterances were clear, succinct and reasonable, even if they were startling and sometimes provocative.
In a word, Americans could relate to Barbara Bush, because she could relate to them. History will treat her well.
10
A lovely remembrance. Emotional, endearing, and with new facts, for me, which make me re-evaluate and appreciate Mrs. Bush.
5
It is so refreshing to read something positive from you, Maureen. This column has made me want to read Mrs. Bush's memoir. Also, my condolences for your loss of your mother. Mrs. Bush's words were very gracious and I hope helped you through a difficult period.
7
Maureen, thank you for this column. Mrs. Barbara Bush was one of those authentic and real American women which I admired. I have met many more since.
5
Yes, a shame about Jennifer Fitzgerald, though.
5
Maureen, what a beautiful column. Thank you. Ramon
10
Barbara Bush clearly showed the world that there is no substitute for class & manners, neither of which has anything to do with money.
Thank you for this essay, Maureen.
18
I have come to the conclusion that America's First Ladies were/are often smarter, tougher, more courageous and more sincere than their husbands. This rule applies to our current First Lady. Of course the bar for this one is pretty low. I often think if Melania would just say enough is enough and leave her husband she'd be as popular as Princess Diane.
5
Grace. Class. Dignity. Humor. Kindness. Traits sorely lacking in today's White House. Thank you Barbara Bush.
12
There was a little known story of her and the family traveling up to Maine for the summer with two black employees; they stopped at a hotel that said the Bush family could stay but not the black employees. Apparently the employees told Mrs Bush they would find other accommodations, but she said no, and they didn’t stay at that hotel. As a patrician, I would not have been surprised in the least if she’d had said sure, but she didn’t, so regardless of any “hidden” motives, that made me think much more highly of her. Remembering the remarks made after Katrina, after hearing that story, also made me see those statements in a different light; I don’t think she was being racist or judgmental, just stating obvious. Plus, she did love her Millie and those pups, that’s a plus in my book!
7
She was a LADY. Not that awful, demeaning term " ladylike ". My sincere condolences to the entire Family. And you should take notice, and perhaps notes, Ms. Dowd. Just saying.
6
Classy Maureen. A lovely tribute.
1
A nice tribute but let's look at she's brought to the world, just in one son, George W., alone.
Ignored warnings in August 2001 about Osama bin Laden planning to attack the U.S. with airplanes and did nothing about it, leading to over 3,000 dead.
Cut taxes and financial regulations, wiping out a national surplus, sharpening income inequality and leading to one of the worst financial disasters in world history.
Completely mismanaging the forever war in Afghanistan, giving us the longest war in U.S. history that has no point and no chance of ending.
Ignoring the advice of our middle East allies (and even some foes) about invading Iraq because it would destabilize an already unstable region, giving us a second "forever war" that has cost us trillions, gave rise to Al Qaeda in Iraq and ISIS, hurting millions of Iraqis, indirectly causing one the biggest refugee crisis in world history.
While Mrs. Bush might have been a sweet lady, that sweetness certainly didn't "trickle down" to her children!
17
Maureen, if I could write half as good as yourself, Bob Dylan(him) nn your hearts together, I would be, well, either Maureen Dowd or Bob Dylan. Thanks for such a heartfelt nn interesting points brought up about, oh, grace uner pressure let me say... Thank you, from my heart.
I remember when you wrote about your Mom after she died. Your piece was lovely.
2
Speaking her mind is not necessarily the best attribute Ms. Dowd, sometimes a little white lie is not bad when speaking someone`s mind could be cruel and hurtful for someone who does not deserve such cruelty.
I admired Ms. Barb in 2016 when she spoke openly against the con man trump and did not vote for the man who is a lying corrupt man.
Then there are the Sons, Neil the corrupt one and W who allowed Cheney and Rumsy to start this war in false pretense.
Jeb is Jeb but now I wish he was ahead of trump in the primary.
6
Maureen, I didn’t think you had it in you to write kindly about anyone.
Bravo! Barbara Bush was a first class dame. Thanks for shining a light on her.
5
I watched some of the funeral. Nicely done with class. Heard some awful words from Roger Stone----not good to speak ill of the dead. Barbara was a blessing to family and to nation. Maureen was a little to gritty for my taste. Think and speak fondly of the departed, it does not cost a penny, and is comforting to the family when read a week or a year later.
2
How far we have fallen with the graceless man in the White House. I wasn't a fan of either President Bush- but the Bushes they are well raised and classy
Trump? to quote A Fish Called Wanda: to call Trump classless is an insult to classless people.
6
I think Barbara Bush was a decent person who did some very good things.
However she was deafingly silent while George W., Dick Cheney, John Bolton and others got us into the disasterous Iraq war. Maybe she couldn't have done anything to lessen the impact of the Iraq war but at least she could have tried.
8
Seriously. The mother of the President is going to "lessen the impact of the Iraq war." Geez.
1
So Barbara Bush could “throw shade” and “served her revenge cold.”
I have read stories all week how “great” this woman was..why?
My dad came back from WWII to his wife of two years--married on a 2 day pass from Camp Carson--after serving as a grunt in the Pacific. HW Bush, dad a senator was able to become a naval aviator. His son GW Bush got a plush job in the Texas Air National Guard instead of heading to Vietnam as did my spouse and I.
My dad went to a technical school in St.Paul instead of a prep academy. He started working on a printing press raising five kids while my mom worked 70-80 hrs a week as a university dietitian for 10,000 dorm kids and all the athletic training tables.
They moved us to a farm to learn to work-from mechanics--fixing farm equipment to caring for the cattle, building fence, carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, foundation work, baling hay.
Sure wasn’t Kennebunkport as dad’s father was an immigrant from Bohemia--not a US Senator.
Not ONE of us kids had a baseball team handed to us, a governorship or a presidency.
My mom died at age 62 after raising five kids and innovating nutrition for college students and athletes.
Sour grapes? I’m just sick of wealthy people being seen as GREAT people for doing what the rest of us middle class do every day. Be nice to people and DON’T THROW SHADE!
MO, BTW one’s hair does NOT turn white over stress.
“but no clear link has been found between stress and gray hair.”
https://www.scientificamerican.com
31
I totally agree. The Bushes have always been a pampered bunch...just like the Clintons. Nothing extraordinary about them except the good fortune they enjoyed.
3
I just would like to know where Mrs. Bush was when her husband chose to appear to the racist instincts of American voters with his Willie Horton ad or when her sons chose to vilify Planned Parenthood and, indirectly, her mother-in-law who had headed its Connecticut chapter.
I consider a sign of character is whether you are willing to stand up for what's right and not whether or not you color your hair.
26
Perhaps she agreed with many that federally funding the killing of babies was not "right". No matter color her hair was.
My condolences to the Bush family for the passing of Barbara Bush. I wish them all the best.
But this hagiographic revisionist coverage at the time of her death is slightly nauseating to me.
This country would have been better off without the Bush and Clinton dynasties. Ship them all off on a slow boat to China. I notice George Bush (son of Jeb) is trying to gain prominence in Texas politics and of course the Clintons are going to try and thrust Chelsea into the political spotlight at some point in time. I wouldn't be surprised if delusional, power-hungry Hillary had decided Chelsea should someday be President.
Just go away, please. Both families, with their entitled, elitist attitudes, have had their moment of fame and done enough damage to our country.
Moreover, if Jeb! and Hillary hadn't insisted "it was their turn" to be President, we likely wouldn't have Trump as President.
11
Thank you Ms Dowd for a heartfelt article with out rancor for the politics of Mrs Bush and her family.
4
This was a nice tribute, Ms Dowd. I can't say that I ever really cared for any Bush, except her. I always thought she had real guts to be who she wanted to be. It was a nice tribute to her today, but I imagine she would of thought it a little over the top. But hey, she was a First Lady. No way to escape it really. RIP Mrs. Bush.
I have all the admiration for Barbara Bush but her biggest mistake was not stopping her son from running for the Presidency of United States. She very well knew George W was not a Presidential material. He neither had the vision nor the intellect to be the leader of the free world. His administration created havoc in the Middle East under the disguise of weapons of mass destruction , results of which we are seeing now, entire Iraq, Syria destroyed, hundreds of thousands of families uprooted for generations to come. children separated from parents, infra structure destroyed, for what? For personal agenda of Dick Cheney ? George W went along with him. I cannot honestly have good words for Mrs Bush regardless of her achievements in life. She with her husband are responsible for the world chaos we see today. They did not have the guts to stop George W from running knowing well he was never meant to be our President. For that I will never excuse Barbara Bush
13
The funeral of Barbara Bush elevated my thoughts about
family, service, politics and yes, religious traditions. For ninety minutes I was certain there is a better world out there.
4
She was always a rock. Comfortable in her own skin and maintained a detached, practical eye in a world where that’s pretty rare. Always kind to White House staff and the secret service.
RIP Mrs Bush.
1
And exactly how do you presuppose to "know her heart"?
The fact that she raised an individual (W), many in the world consider a war criminal, should give one pause, should it not?
12
It's nice to be reminded that there are some decent human beings in the GOP. One hopes that they will reclaim what's left of their party from Trump, Trump's complicit sycophants, the Alt Right, and such.
2
Granite is not a constituent of the geology of Greenwich, Ct--my hometown. Nor was Barbara Bush from Greenwich. So, pace Maureen Dowd, the late First Lady could not accurately be described as "Greenwich granite". Rye-on-the-rocks might be a better fit.
3
Sorry, Ms. Dowd, but if she wants to take credit for being the 'wife and mother', she also has to take the blame. W should never have been President, and she should bear her share of the blame for his having been there.
8
Well, she certainly enjoyed her privilege and status......sadly
2
What I remember most about her is when her husband told reporters Yes I know my wife is a dog. I thought that was terrible. How did he get away with that?
What strikes me now is some of the reaction to the reaction. Apparently the American Revolution has been repealed and we have returned to being a full fledged Monarchy. In a democracy you are allowed to say whatever you want about the President and his family. In a monarchy you are not allowed to disrespect the Royal Family. According to your colleague Goldberg many teachers have lost their jobs or or are being ousted for saying negative things about BB.
Well Democracy in America has long been dead, as you may know. The politicians follow the money instead of the voters. But now I see that even the egalitarian attitude is fading. Soon we will be told that the President is the Son of Heaven. We will be required to fall on our faces when he goes by.
2
I loved imagining, as she sat in the pew so close to Barbara Bush, that Melania may hsve held Barack's hand (out of camera view) in both shared condolence....and loving support for the greater good of our country.
1
Ms. Lillian joined the PEACE CORPS when she was in hr seventies. President Carter continued to contribute to the commonweal after he was defeated in 1980 by volunteering for HABITAT FOR HUMANITY.Rosalynn Carter continues to do philanthropic work in a homeless shelter in Plains,and pitches in at the local animal shelter. What has Barbara Bush done that is so extraordinary? She lacked the will power to finish her degree at Smith College, remained within her social class her entire life.I have nothing against her, but found her rather mediocre in appearance and lacking in any significant achievements in life.She was also, according to Roger Stone, a "bloody drunk," which he wrote in his obra magister, "Jeb and the Bush Crime Family!"So what's the big deal? Is Barbara Bush the only person to have passed away in 2018?Think of those poor souls dying from bunker bombs and chemical gas attacks in DOUMA, unable to leave because they are surrounded by hostile forces commanded by the sadist ASSAD!i If Barbara Bush had the character that everybody seems to attribute to her, she would have given instructions to her family not to spend hundreds of thousands on a tiresome funeral,but to be buried at her death in a simple, unpretentious graveyard with the inscription "Barbara Bush , born 1925; died 2018."Am reminded of Breslin's response when asked how he would like to be remembered:"It don't matter because I won't be here!"Once you'e gone, you're gone, and "on s'en fout!"
4
Speaking her mind is not necessarily the best attribute Ms. Dowd, sometimes a little white lie is not bad. Speaking someone`s mind could be cruel and hurtful for someone who does not deserve such cruelty.
I give credit to Ms. Barb in 2016 when she spoke openly against the con man trump and did not vote for the man who is a lying corrupt man.
Then there are the Sons, Neil the corrupt one and W who allowed Cheney and Rumsy to start this war in false pretense.
Then Jeb is Jeb but now I wish he was ahead of trump in the primary.
2
Thank you Maureen.
I will remember her as a real heart lady. The email that she sent to you really touch me.
I am sure you will miss her.
1
what about Jennifer Fitzgerald?
3
And I think I went along with some of my dyed blue sentiment; But thankfully, I didn’t dislike Barbara, it’s just that I didn’t like her hubby… Even now, as much time has elapsed, it seems like nothing is as bad as what we got in office today. Time keeps on chugging along and things get worser and worser......
1
She won even more of my respect and admiration when she hugged the AIDS patient many years ago.
1
I'm sorry, but I can't help seeing the similarities between Ms. Dowd with the Bushes at Kennebunkport and Sean Hannity with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
In both cases, it's hard to tell who's using who.
11
To quote Mrs. Bush, .... lovely.
I moved to the USA when the Bushes were in the White House, but I admired Barbara Bush long before I got here. Her warmth, her wit, her causes, her looks — everything about her was real and unscripted. She was a true gift to her family and to her country.
1
In these days of confusion, chaos and an absolute dearth of character and honest discourse, Mrs. Bush was 1000 points of light....
79
Wow that was a good one! Thanks for that!
2
Dear Maureen, thank you for your columns, I have been enjoying them for years. Times are becoming different fast though. Please re-focus!! We are at the beginning of a dramatic climate change and a catastrophic mass extinction of species! Please join energies!
2
Sorry, but even lying in bed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia watching the funeral, I could appreciate the good things Barbara Bush did, but couldn't get past the damage the Bush family has caused.
On the other hand, Maureen, I wish I had known earlier that you like Patti Smith. It might have helped mitigate some of your more disastrous columns.
11
Dear Ms Dowd:
let me express i this special column , how lucky you were for the very teeasure some instances you savour with the company of ms. Bush. No one could ever be more talented to help us revive such outstanding moments you enjoy to extreme. regards.
1
Your column today, Ms. Dowd, was lovely.
Barbara Bush was indeed a beauty.
88
What a great read first thing in the AM. I met her briefly in 1984 while in college. She was elegant, funny, civil
and I could tell, tough. From then on I could never get enough about her. This week when I heard the news, I really felt a kick in my gut. Mrs. Bush was rare and all class.
3
Thank you for this column. The line about how Mrs. Bush knew ten ways to throw shade but 100 ways to shine light caught my attention. I suspect all of us looking back on our own lives would hope to have the same average.
5
That was a truly appropriate tribute. So sad that there is no one like her in politics now- not that I can see.
4
Although never a Bush clan fan, this was a refreshing read. I hope the media will continue to highlight further the unique and important role of women in society.
9
I am a middle aged man sitting here drinking my Sunday morning coffee with tears in my eyes....lovely tribute.
19
Maureen -- a classy obit for a classy lady. Well written, heartfelt and historic. Thank you.
17
A classy tribute- well done..
14
In every way, the passing of Barbara Bush sorely reminds the United States that public service role models for young adults and young reporters have abandoned the Oval Office. We wince and mourn the death of civility, respect, and humanity in our nation's soul. We miss Barbara very much.
33
Incredible person, great writing, I am in tears.
9
A very nice tribute. It is moving how many people identify Barbara Bush with their own mother, and if they underwent the death of their own mother how they relate to the death of Mrs. Bush meaning I think that as a mother she had those qualities that people recognize, respect and value.
17
Barbara Bush had a lot of humor, was unpretentious, strong, gracious, and admired by her family for her honesty and directness, At her service today those who spoke told of her love for her husband and children and friends. She shone in the light of that love.
19
Thinking how very lucky we were to have Barbara Bush as First Lady. This article made me cry. Feeling this country's loss of a decent leader in her own right.
28
I liked Barbara Bush, l loved her candor and her humor. She was a great First Lady and she will be missed.
21
A fine, moving tribute -- one that is very well deserved.
28
Many years ago at a survival catering
job I got to see Barbara Bush in action.
It was at a tented luncheon in her honor,
out at a New Jersey estate. Looking
back it feels as if I am just imagining this,
but I am pretty sure it happened. The Chef's
brother and sister in law were also helping
out at the party and they had a new baby
and everyone was getting their picture
with Barbara and the sister in law wanted
to have the baby to have his picture taken
with her as well, and the baby started to
fuss and Barbara grabbed him up and
instantly and expertly quieted him
speaking to him gently, but with authority,
and giving him a brisk back rub and then offered
a few other brusque pearls about baby
handling from her own experience to the
new anxious mother. It would be very hard
not to like this fierce, direct and big hearted
woman, not a phony bone in her body. And
I have never voted Republican.
176
The story about Barbara Bush that sticks in my mind is that at one big family gathering one of the grand kids complained about having to eat his broccoli, when Poppy was exempt of the obligation. Her retort: 'You are absolutely right! And when you become President, you won't either.'
I thought that was quite mordant and have used the line with my own kids. But those were the days before W and Jeb! In the mean time I have come agree with her other sortie: We've had enough Bushes for a while. They say talent skips a few generations. I hope so.
4
I was never a great fan of Barbara Bush, though I always respected her comfortable motherly appearance. I thought of ten bad things that could’ve been said about her. I stopped.
What’s wrong with us, that we are so contentious? Thank you for a positive piece on a somewhat controversial figure. Would be nice to get back to dignified discussion, rather than the nasty discourse that seems to dominate.
124
@K. Corbin
Read the other Comments and you will notice that few regular readers of this paper have failed to heed the lesson you so eloquently propose.
2
It's a commonly accepted practice to only speak well of the dead, but we all have our foibles and flaws. Certainly Mrs. Bush had her moments of notable compassion and elegance and, being so much in the public eye, unfortunate lapses of graciousness. As the matriarch of a high profile political family, it is likely she will be judged as much through the lens of the words and deeds of her husband and sons as her own. But time and events tend to skew our perspective. The Bush family benefits tremendously from comparison to the current occupants of the White House.
47
THANK YOU FOR THE LOVELY THOUGHTS, AND EXPRESSIONS FOR MRS. BUSH, YOU ARE LUCKY TO HAVE KNOWN HER, AND OUR COUNTRY WAS LUCKY TO
HAVE HAD HER AS FIRST LADY, SHE WAS TRULY A MUCH LOVED QUEEN.
30
I'm happy to find that I may have misjudged her.
I watched the David Frost interview of her and H.W the Friday evening before the 1992 election.
My impression was that he didn't really want to be president anymore and that she thought they were royalty.
I think I read H.W. correctly, but may have misinterpreted her approach to the coming election.
13
Thank you Ms Dowd for a lovely column about a lovely First Lady.
I won't pile on about her sons as others have because just as I believe the sins of the parents shouldn't be visited upon the children, I believe that parents only have so much influence on their children.
Instead I will judge her for her good works, her championing of literacy, her embracing babies with aids, her refusing to bow to societal and cultural expectations of what women should look like.
That last idea in particular resonates with me as a woman. It takes a certain kind of woman, especially a woman whose husband is in politics, to not give in to societal pressure of what color a woman's hair should be, how she should dress, how thin she should be.
I really admire Barbara Bush for being way ahead of her time in regards to body shaming and not giving in to pressure to not be her real self.
She was authentic and I wish we had more leaders like her.
Given our current political climate, I didn't even realize how much I missed her until she was gone.
126
Very gracious... that is to say Mrs. Bush, Mrs.Trump, Ms Noonan, 4 former Presidents and others.
Nice to see, nice to read, touching, not political. What we used to call non partisan.
I think Mrs. Bush would have appreciated that. I certainly did.
Condolences to the Bush family.
And, thanks to Ms. Dowd for reminding us from whence we came.
37
As a Massachusetts Democrat I respected President Bush 41, had less respect for President Bush 43 and his "handlers," Cheney and Rummy, but always respected and had great admiration for Barbara Bush. She was a wonderful lady and heaven's gain is our loss.
Rest In Peace, Mrs. Bush.
74
The Dan Rostenkowski story is an absolute gem.
34
Beautifully written and felt.
27
Can I say anything more complimentary than, "It made me cry?"
I saw Barbara Bush on TV talking with some underprivileged kids, it may have been a Christmas show, shortly after GHW became President. That was all it took to realize, "There is a HEART."
38
Like many people, Barbara Bush was complex, but at least she was strong and down to earth. Although I do appreciate Maureen Dowd's tribute, what G. (Socrates) said about her producing such awful sons, especially W. is indeed baffling, and perhaps one of those mysteries that is left for us to ponder.
16
What I liked about Barbara Bush is that she was her own person. Wish that she had been a bit more outspoken when her husband was in office but you can't have everything I guess.
19
Mrs. Bush grew up and married in Rye,NY, my home town. She and the President were married at the Apawamus country club where my father was a caddy and gave Barbara Pierce (Bush) golf lessons. Great reporting Ms. Dowd!
22
Thank you sharing your anecdotes on a Barbara Bush. Also for linking us to your tribute for your own mother. Had me laughing and shedding tears. Nothing beats that!
14
Perhaps when the day arrives when Stephen Hawking's funeral gets the attention that Barbara Bush's funeral was given, I might take the national TV coverage, the saluting students, and the media's search for something praiseworthy with more regard.
58
AMEN!!! Our adulation is misplaced most of the time and too often too much of the time.
23
Read some of the other comments about how she connected with “real” people. I agree that Steven Hawkins passing should have had more coverage, but don’t deny the contributions this lady made to our society. She had, in spades, what we used to call “class”.
3
Dear Profbart,
While the death of Stephen Hawking is of some moment, the death of Barbara Bush is also of note. She was a woman of culture and intelligence and it is tawdry to diminish or compare her death to someone else.
4
We were Peace Corps volunteers in Tunisia in 1986 when she and her husband came to visit. Those of us who were in Tunis were invited to hear Mr. Bush speak at the ambassador's house. After the speech they mingled with all of us. I later found out she took the names and phone numbers of some of the volunteers who asked her and she called their parents. My friend Nancy said she called her parents house when she got back to the states and introduced herself. Her dad answered and he asked Mrs. Bush to call back because Nancy's mom wasn't home and she did!
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Now that is a great story!!! Thank you for sharing that anecdote.
7
Wonderful how the bio that causes me to wonder even more about a certain apple falling far from the tree. W does not seem to be in his father's league. We now know he is too, distant from the sane home he was raised in.
Whatever the aberration and it's raison de'tre, W's misdeeds will certainly overshadow Bar's rememberance.
12
Beautiful tribute. Thank you.
15
Confucius said that to practice five things under all circumstances constitutes “perfect virtue”: gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. Looking back on Barbara Bush’s public life, it’s hard to argue that she wasn’t five for five.
31
A lovely tribute. Nice to think about Mrs. Bush having a last Bourbon before departing this world. How refreshing to learn more about the woman herself - kudos to her for stepping up to hold babies with AIDS when that illness was officially overlooked for way too long. I certainly did not agree with the politics of the Bush Presidents, but it's heartening to think the positive aspects her influence also has been wide and long-lived - especially the part devoted to kindness. We sure need that more than ever now. I hope that part of her legacy endures, in her family and in all those she touched.
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Her passing serves as a sad reminder of how far the old WASP establishment has fallen.
Once a major influence in running the political, cultural and business affairs of this country, especially the Republican kind, today it is getting increasingly difficult to find.
Unlike Trump and his cronies, they had manners, were staunch patriots and set a moral tone for this country that made important contributions to our national life and politics.
I miss them.
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@A. Stanton
The WASPs, and that includes Roosevelt, were really little different from the Kennedys.
Using the government to take care of people that nobody really knows or encounters in their daily lives, and from whom most try to live far away and take care of their own first, is not charity and compassion; it's called modern government.
It's a very cheap form of assuaging the guilt over our success and the opportunity that one's freedom provided. It's a burden most Americans handle poorly.
6
The Kennedys weren't even in the same ballpark as the Roosevelts and other patrician families. They were Irish new money.
Maureen, a beautifully written article about a woman who wasn't afraid to call a wart, a wart. No matter who it was on. She had guts, courage and, that old fashioned word, moxie.
Now, more than ever, we need more like her. Thank you for sharing your memories of her.
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A wonderful bit of biography, Ms Dowd, about a lady after my own heart. In spite of our differing politics, I liked Barbara Bush. She had moxie; she was honest and true to herself. She was real. How many of us would raise our hands when asked if our pearls are fake? Is there any other kind?
But we need to take a look at how times have changed, and not for the better. Here was a woman of means who most likely preferred life on their ranch enjoying getting her boots muddied and hands dirty. Then we need look at another Republican couple presently occupying the White House. Melania's one pair of shoes I am sure costs more than all the ones combined which I have purchased over my 70 years of life.
However, it is not only about the Trumps, but also about this new age electorate. Where are our values when we elect glitz and glamor or when we let ourselves be deceived by empty promises, actually lies, over the need for both parties to tend to society's ills and problems in an honest way?
Yes, Barbara Bush will be missed. The word "class" comes to mind when I think of her...a presently misunderstood word that is as foreign to many as speaking Russian.
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Authenticity always makes a person appealing. Mrs. Bush was real.
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Yep, she was a Smithie, Of the 1940's era. So was Mom, & seemed the same as Big as described--with matching husbands,sigh.
9
Beautiful column, Ms. Dowd. It makes me realize how far we have fallen from a time that valued decency, respect, kindness and a genuine spirit of service. RIP, Barbara Bush.
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Yes, I agree we have fallen far. However, I will never forget the comment she made in 2003 regarding no reason to show flag draped coffins returning to Andrews Air Force Base. Her son W was not a braver warrior himself like his dad, but W and Cheney got us into a mess in Iraq and I think mother Barbara was trying to give boy George some coverage with this comment. Not very classy.
7
What strikes me most deeply about Barbara Bush is that whe was a woman of substance. Although I often disagreed with the politics of her husband and sons, I admire & appreciate her as a substantive First Lady, an exemplar of that unofficial title.
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I was a child during the Reagan and Bush senior years so unfortunately my only impression of Mrs Bush was her heartless comments made during her son's years about Katrina victims and the returning remains of our Iraq soldiers. Thank you for sharing your memories of her and some of her history. Her mother was much like mine so I understand why she would so value kindness. I've gained new respect and empathy for her through this piece. I'm glad she went surrounded by her loved ones. May she rest in peace.
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If you look up the “beautiful mind” quote in Snopes it’s not quite as remembered. At least this one has been remembered incorrectly.
Barbara Bush's photo holding and kissing the baby with AIDS when most people would have run away speaks volumes. How many people would have done that back when we knew so little about this illness. It showed her compassion, kindness and decency in a world full of selfishness and self centeredness. What a wonderful lady. Nancy Reagan would have turned her nose down on that infant. I think the Bushes should have considered it a privilege that the Reagans never invited them to the White House. The Reagans were so far below the Bushes and were nothing more then third rate actors. Mrs. Reagan was a snob who had nothing to be snobbish about.
I think Mrs. Bush will go down in American history as one of our finest First Ladies. She was generous to the less fortunate and was a decent human being who expected nothing in return. She raised a fine family free of scandal and notoriety. She ruled with a firm hand but was loving and caring. And in return her family loved her unconditionally.
She came from wealth but never looked down on those who did not. She treated people with respect and dignity. Listening to those speak fondly of her was heartwarming. She was truly human and she is what is needed more then ever in our chaotic world today. She will be remembered as a fine woman who made a difference in our world.
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That was heartfelt and beautifully written. Thank you.
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Ahem. Though I would normally not consider today to be the day, I have paid my respects so I will comment: "Free of scandal and notoriety?" Hardly.
But what Barbara Bush taught me anew is that we all have our foibles and our attributes, our loves and our failings, our trials and tribulations, our triumphs and trumpets. She forged ahead despite and with all of those and more, and that is her abiding legacy.
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Never mind that her husband and Reagan did nothing about AIDS for 8 years. Sorry, but hugging an AIDS baby in 1989 meant nothing; certainly not courage.
2
Congrats to Ms. Dowd for writing about two extraordinary women in one week. Even as Mrs. Bush was a titan amongst our nation's first ladies, Rachel Weisz is a (somewhat less heralded) treasure among the first ladies of the screen, and Ms. Dowd's interview with her illuminates the fierce intelligence and uncommon grace that she brings to each of her performances. I can't wait to see the new movie in which she co-stars with Rachel McAdams (they play contemporaries even though Ms. Weisz is older by about a decade). Perhaps at some point she'll don fake pearls and portray Barbara Bush. I certainly wouldn't put it past her.
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"In a moment that still makes me cringe, the comedian Sinbad turned to Mrs. Bush on the dais at a White House Correspondents Dinner and said she looked like a grandmother, compared with her boyish husband."
How unbelievably cruel.
Thank you Maureen for revealing the very human side of Barbara Bush--warts and all--who finally made peace with herself when she stopped trying to live up to everyone's expectations.
Right after she died and the reminiscences began in full force, the one that really stood out to me was this: Mrs. Bush always made a point, at events, to go up approach the one person in the room with nobody to talk to.
She's known to have advised anyone who asked that, for her, the most important quality anyone can display is kindness.
Barbara Bush may have been many things--tart-tongued, vindictive, and fiercely protective of her family--but it's the kindness that I want to remember most of all.
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@Christine McM
I had to read four of the most popular comments to reach a kind one, written by a woman no less.
Thank you, Christine.
Based on today's output by your commenting colleagues, you wrote against form and stand as an example.
I will leave the Center and move Left when I see similar rectitude and less cynicism from other Liberals. But, then, I don't need to worry about that day arriving too soon.
12
I, too have mixed feelings about Barbara Bush, remembering how she referred to Geraldine Ferraro as a word that rhymed with "witch." A woman actually running for Vice President was such an incredible idea for me to think about at that time.
However, when I think about her entire life and how she lived it, the pluses outshine the minuses.
8
I really can't see that saying someone looks like a grandmother is cruel, unless the commenter is amazingly sexist and ageist. I feel sure it wasn't an issue for "Babs".
1
After Michelle’s piece on Randa Jarrar (who recently tweeted some outrageous stuff about Mrs. Bush, to almost universal condemnation), Maureen’s column was a pleasure to read. And it might be pointed out, Maureen actually knew “Bar”, and Prof. Jarrar certainly did not.
I’m surprised that someone hasn’t figured how many times the cost of the $29 shoes she wore to George H.W.’s inauguration just ONE pair of Melania’s Jimmy Choos typically represents. Imagine the self-confidence of this woman. I’ve promoted a lot of women in my career, and if I had more with her self-confidence and the substance to back it up, I would have promoted more.
You always had the feeling that if you could ever talk to Barbara Bush, you’d recognize America in every rising eyebrow, every inflection, and every word. We will miss her, and my profound condolences to the president and to her large extended brood.
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Dear Richard,
I've been fortunate to have had a number of aunts and elders who had a sensibility that is rare to find in the current culture. These Americans, had a refreshing and trenchant world view that was not infected by popular thought. Almost impossible to find in the world today . The self righteous of this world, make me gloomy.
Barbara Bush never made me feel gloomy.
15
I've always loved Barbara Bush. She was a woman after my own heart. My hair turned silver earlier than most and I wore it like a badge of honor, just as I proudly wear every other fly in the face of reason I tend to offer the world on occasion.
I can't stand how reductive we've become in assessing not only the complex lives of the newly departed, but every other blessed thing we offer our opinion on.
Not one of us can be reduced to the level of our worst thoughts. Those in the public sphere, which now includes all of us whether we like it or not, have to live with every unconsidered utterance as if it were our manifesto.
My gentle, wise, witty, and loving grandmother upon her first visit to Canada and to the magnificent wilderness she loved, posited that the architects and builders of the cities and towns we drove through aught to be shot for the travesties they plunked upon this noble land. Although we were slightly insulted on their behalf we got her point. Lively discussions ensued. It was a great trip and no actual architects were harmed in the process.
4
Whatever your politics, it is easy to recognize that Barbara Bush was a class act, and she and her husband, great patriots and loving parents, had a wonderful marriage. May she forever rest in peace, and may President Bush find peace and tranquility in the warm comfort of his family.
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Exquisite, Maureen Dowd, your paean to First Lady Barbara Bush, wife of President G.H.W. Bush and mother of President G.W.Bush. Truly a woman of valor - most admirable and lovely among women - in our American history. She spoke from her heart her entire long life. Attending her obsequies on TV in Texas today, all Americans who cared and still care for her were deeply moved. Thank you. She will live vibrant and strong in our national memory and hearts.
34
Babs seemed like a fine woman; likable, honest, unpretentious and sincere...and interested in literacy...what could be finer ?
Her foundation website has a nice quote:
”The American Dream is about equal opportunity for everyone who works hard. If we don't give everyone the ability to simply read and write, then we aren't giving everyone an equal chance to succeed.“
—Barbara Bush
https://www.barbarabushlegacy.org/?utm_source=BB&utm_medium=Redirect
But how in the world can such a decent woman (and her husband George H W Bush) produce such a conveyor belt of rotten sons ?
First there was Neil Bush in the 1980's, a clueless member of the board of directors of Silverado Savings and Loan that went belly-up during the savings and loan crisis and cost the country $1.3 billion.
Then Jeb worked the Florida voter files in 1999 & 2000 to illegally purge them of Democratic-leaning voters, not to mention the role of 2000 Florida Election Day voting irregularities that crushed democracy.
http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/exesum.htm
Then Dubya and his team finished the 2000 political hijacking and went on to eight years of absolute mayhem and mismanagement domestically and internationally.
And of course, Poppy Bush left us with the worst Supreme Court Justice in modern history, the angry Clarence Thomas.
The worst generation of Bushes wreaked absolute havoc on America.
Rest in peace, Barbara, while the rest of America suffers the aftereffects of all the men in your family.
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The answer may lie in the influence of the father, the grandfather, and all of the other male ancestors that preceded them. Over several generations, the Walker/Bush family built a family dynasty that created and ran businesses in banking and the military-industrial complex. They sought power through money and, eventually, politics. The book about them is "American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush" by Kevin Phillips. Phillips says in the Preface, "Four generations of building toward dynasty, however, have infused the Bush family's hunger for power and practices of crony capitalism with a moral arrogance and backstage disregard of the democratic and republican traditions of the U. S. Government."
After reading this book, I could understand why both Bush presidents took us into a war in the Middle-East related to oil. Both GHW and GW Bush were in the oil business. GHW got his start with family money and influence. Family money and influence bailed GW out of some questionable financial business problems.
Barbara Bush was the wife and mother who kept the family together through all of this. But she could not overcome the influence of the family tradition. She was not supposed to do that. She was supposed to create the genteel outer appearance of an upright family, like any wife of a prominent business man/turned politician would do during her era.
56
You've expressed exactly what I've been thinking about in reading all these eulogies about Mrs. Bush.
Her extreme loyalty to her rotten sons has me thinking that all the kind remarks about her are somewhat inappropriate.
32
good points. all of them. Bush the younger not only crashed the country's financial system, but put us into a needless war resulting 4k American dead and 25k serious casualties, at a cost of $2 trillion. While an amiable fellow, he was a disaster as President.
40
Barbara Bush's caustic wit had a very dark callous and insensitive side as when she said about Katirna victims temporarily housed in the Houston Astrodome, that they were "underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them." And then when she heard that many wanted to relocate to Houston she found it "scary." I wish she had had the class to take those remarks back; they're much more than just "shade." Until now they've stuck in my mind as a lasting impression of her, and left me with the feeling that like her disturbed mother she had a very mean, perhaps racist, side that may have been one reason the Reagan's wanted to keep her at arm's length. And having cleared my conscience, I also offer her my forgiveness and will try to replace all those memories with all the good deeds that she did like promoting childhood literacy.
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I remember those Katrina remarks as well, we’d do well to remind ourselves how complicated and contradictory most of us are.
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It is absurd that she gave a Commencement speech at Wellesley based on her own experience of dropping out of Smith to marry. The cause she espoused, literacy, came about because she had a dyslexic child whom she never credited with the reason she acquired an adult education.
7
Another term for shade could be called human nature, or better, flawed human human nature. Who among us hasn't said once or more likely several times in our life time, a mean, a really mean, ornery remark?
For all we know Mrs. Bush is up there trading shade, not deadly mean, remarks with God and both enjoying it. Perfection is boring.
72
I generally respect people who speak their minds and aren't always politically correct, and I know that being the wife and mother of presidents requires someone with a certain strength of will and grit that I'll never have.
But I'd just as soon leave these folks alone. They work in ways and do things that would probably make us cringe. Anyone who could think W was a good idea, or that Jeb! was what this country needed would have to be their mother. I had no such appreciation for their talents.
Mrs. Bush lost me when my city was nearly destroyed and she made snide comments about the poor New Orleans evacuees who were struggling to survive in the Houston Astrodome.
I'm sure she did some nice and compassionate things along the way. She certainly lived a long and colorful life. But the evacuee quip and her famous remark about not wasting her beautiful mind on body bags returning from Iraq did it for me.
474
G, those with common sense, they wonder how one can live in a hurricane zone, on very low lands, by a gulf .. in a city-state that can illustrate "corruption" .. and then expect others to bail them out. NOLA lost many, decades ago.
12
@Bing Ding Ow,
You should tally up the cost of snow days, driving fatalities, property damage and snow removal for Massachusetts and Ohio, where I've lived after Katrina. You might throw in massive California floods and devastating forest fires for good measure. Multiply that times every snow-bound community above the Manson-Nixon line.
I lived through 57 years of hurricanes in New Orleans without so much as a damaged roof tile. But all that aside, check YouTube for "Creighton Bernette's first Treme YouTube rant." John Goodman's character sums up what I feel when folks wonder if New Orleans is worth all the trouble.
81
John Goodman thinks NO is worth it. He owns a house there.
It is customary to laud the deceased. Decent people get it. And to blame President George W Bush on Mrs Barbara Bush is quite unfair. Why, one shouldn't blame President H.W. Bush on her either! To borrow from the senior Bush: they are their own man!
That said, perhaps she should have stuck to her original when she said there are enough Bushes at the White House. Gov Jeb Bush might have a better brain of the family, his Florida track records and his charisma, or lack thereof, have foretold a waste of campaign dollars.
Otherwise, she could have been a great person so happened to be married to a Republican Party family. Being prochoice though, she would have been shunned these days
15
That must have been an unenviable position for Barbara Bush as a mother. She had to balance wanting to support her sons, understanding the influence her husband's presidency had on them, with recognizing their personal limitations and knowing the toll of presidential campaigns and office-holding.
Mrs. Bush managed as best she could, but it was bound to be an awkward set of dynamics to balance.
26
41’s “they are their own man”.
43’s “ “ x too numerous to cite here.
Barbara Bush’s interest in literacy did not extend to husband or son.
I've had the strangest reaction to Mrs. Bush's passing. I never paid much attention to her and thought, when I did think about her, that she seemed callous to Katrina victims at the Houston Astrodome and that somehow she raised a son to become a torturer-in-chief. Until she died I didn't know about her literacy cause (she said "What could be better than holding a child in your arms and reading?" and I agree). I didn't know about her hugging babies with AIDS to lessen our fears. I didn't know about the 27 moves in 73 years of marriage. I did know about the death of Robin but didn't know her hair turned white practically overnight. I laughed out loud at the story of telling the doctor that W turned out the way he did because she drank and smoked during her pregnancy with him. And so many other things I've learned. Maybe I'm still grieving for my mother who also died at 92. I don't know. But I have cried real tears for Bar Bush and I hope she is with her daughter now, leaving a large, loving family behind in the material world.
Her pearls may have been fake. But she was the real deal.
266
Today I realized that when public figures die and we have the opportunity to view any of their rites of passage, we get to experience residual grief from losing our own loved ones. I was boo hooing today too watching the church services of Mrs. Bush, because she certainly reminded me of my mother who died almost 10 years ago.
25
Thanks for sharing your memories, Mo, and the further elucidation of class, grit and common sense of Mrs. Bush - flecked with the foibles we all have of being only human.
She reminds us all that our works live on after us, through those that we inspire, support, encourage, and perhaps teach - simply, 'nurture'.
Americans should all 'nurture' more, as neighbors and a society as a whole, calling out and rejecting those who only want to cannibalize what has been built up through past nurturing.
It is our duty.
27
The late Mrs. Bush seemed disgusted years ago by the turn her party had made towards the crude.
When Sarah Palin was a newer phenomenon, Barbara expressed a wish that she would just stay in Alaska.
And Mrs. Bush made no secret of the contempt with which she and her husband viewed the vulgar Trump.
Barbara Bush was no stranger to personal and political differences; but she had to endure seeing the Republican Party and the office her husband once held reduced to a platform for the basest of impulses.
157
@NM -- a fine piece, my friend. The funeral today was an eloquent coda to a great lady. She never won her mother's affection or approval as a young girl but she made sure her children got plenty of the TLC she was denied as a child. The success of the Bush family is a reflection of Barbara Bush. She will never be forgotten.
18
Thank you so much. Yes, Barbara Bush's capacity to be a more loving mother than her own speaks to the goodness in her heart. And she was the heart and soul of her family, right down to her grandchildren.
By the way, amigo mio, congrats on all your outstanding Times Picks this weekend (I think it was 3 on Friday). Well earned! ;)
3
Yes, NM - but I wish she had spoken out more over the past year or so. At 92, what would she have had to lose by voicing dismay about Trump and his Trumpettes? And what could Trump have done to "punch back even harder" at a 92-year-old woman? Ah well. RIP.
4
No coarseness or meanness, BB,
No lover of Reagan's Nancy,
Disliker of Cheney
Who made fair days rainy,
No phony and that was the key.
123
Wow!
Ronnie and Nancy never invited the Bushes to a White House dinner in 8 years.
I've never dined there either, but I would rather have had a bourbon with Bar than a chard with Mrs. Reagan.
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